Short sayings from Egyptian monasticism: memorable, strange, practical, and easy to read in small doses.
Sisoes the Great
c. 369* – c. 429
* Date marked with an asterisk is a placeholder estimate (lifespan heuristic), not a sourced claim. Hover for the derivation.
Monk
Quick facts
- Born
- c. 369*
- Died
- c. 429, Mount Colzim
- Region
- egypt
- Era
- desert father
- Significance
- Notable(2/4)
- Also known as
- Abba Sisoes
Highlights
- Main contribution
- Egyptian solitary who, after the death of Antony the Great, withdrew to Antony's mountain (Mount Colzim near the Red Sea) and lived there for some seventy years.
- Primary source
- Apophthegmata Patrum, alphabetical collection s.v. Sisoes
Egyptian solitary who, after the death of Antony the Great, withdrew to Antony's mountain (Mount Colzim near the Red Sea) and lived there for some seventy years. He is one of the most quoted abbas in the Apophthegmata Patrum, with around fifty sayings preserved under his name in the alphabetical collection, mostly on humility, mourning for sin, and refusal to teach. Often cited in later Byzantine and Slavonic spiritual literature.
Recommended reading near Sisoes the Great
A cover-visible starting point chosen from the curated reading path, either by this figure or by their era.
Chain to Jesus
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Sources for biography
- Apophthegmata Patrum, alphabetical collection s.v. Sisoes primary
- ODCC s.v. Sisoes, St secondary
tradition connections(1)
- succeeded in see Anthony the GreatSisoes settled on Antony's mountain (Mount Colzim) after Antony's death; this is a hagiographic succession of place rather than an episcopal see, but is the standard tradition. Use with caution.Apophthegmata Patrum, alphabetical collection s.v. Sisoes 1, 28